Brand Noise

All Over the World, Teens Crave Empowerment

Last season, Frontline/World ran a story from the Middle East that introduced viewers to the fastest selling comic book in the Arab world, The 99. The comic features characters with super powers based on the concept of Allah's 99 attributes, including wisdom and generosity, as taught in the Koran. Its creator, Naif al-Mutawa, is a 36-year-old from Kuwait who was educated in the United States and who, as a boy, devoured Marvel comics and the Hardy Boys mysteries.

Reporter Isaac Solotaroff followed al-Mutawa as he marketed his comics throughout the Middle East, hoping to spread a moderate, modern image of Islam to the world. In this update, Solotaroff catches up with al-Mutawa in Jakarta, Indonesia, where the comic creator is trying to sell his work to the largest Islamic country in the world, a country that accounts for one in six of all Muslims worldwide. An ensuing documentary, Wham! Bam! Islam!, is in the works. Go, Isaac!

Even more compelling will be to see how the Islamic comic fans evolve. Will the cosplayers take it to the next level? Spirituality already underlies many a Manga. And, apparently, you can even see lotsa hijabi girls in Malaysia attending cosplay events. Could cosplay become the common ground the world needs? Can kids who think change the world? In our own research we've found the cosplay kids to be some of the most open-minded serious global thinkers. It belies the initial impression often viewed simply as kids in costume. These are not the Star Trekkies of past generations.   

Joy Division Zune

Cool Gen X news.....Microsoft is readying a Joy Division edition of its Zune MP3 player to coincide with the June 10 release of an eponymous DVD about the band.

Embracing Eating Alone

The TV dinner has evolved - well at least in attitude.  I was kind of surprised to see the positioning on the latest launch by DiGiorno, "DiGiorno for One".  Microwave cooking has taken some time to get in touch with the lonely reality behind it.  Embracing it seems like a smart strategy.  Implied sharing is built into so much of other heat and eat food messaging.  How long has advertising lied to us pushing those frozen foods as still connected to some ideal picture of home.  Is this really what works?  Are people who eat alone expecting some reminder of a more social eating experience? 

Being Young in China

Young & Restless in China tracks the lives of nine Chinese Gen X'ers over four years as they scramble to keep pace with a society changing faster than any in history. Raised under communism they are now making their way in China's blazing capitalist economy. Their stories of ambition, exuberance, crime and corruption are interwoven with moments of love, heartbreak and passion. Together they capture the changing values, hopes and dreams of a pivotal generation.

Good Technology Makes Good Pictures, Not Smiles

Why is a smile synonymous with a good picture? Sony has been banking on the connection with its new Cyber-Shot camera with its Smile Shutter technology. Yet reviews are less than favorable: “Smile shutter sounds appealing in theory…But it strikes me as a work in progress.”

My own favorite photos of my six-year-old daughter are when she’s at her most contemplative. Maybe they can fine-tune a camera for me with a Brood Button? This is a case of where technology is not keeping up. The smile thing as good photography is something that lives in the realm of boomers and silents.

Not such a provocative concept considering that the first successful picture was produced in June/July 1827 by Niépce required an exposure of eight hours. Who could have possibly smiled that long?  Things didn't get snappy until about a century later.

(photo: Sabine demonstrates that pain makes a great picture.)

Parent/Kid Sharing is About Fun

Check out this bit of kid/parental sharing. Can someone give me one compelling reason to act like an adult? The idea of play doesn’t stop when a Gen Xer or Yer becomes an adult, let alone a parent. Now it's about seeing the fun side of all things. Even when your house is being overrun by Littlest Pet Shop, as demonstrated by director Rebecca and her dad, the cameraman.

Growing Pains: As Networks Intensify, Roles Evolve

We here at scenarioDNA love the roller derby. It’s an amazing source of girl power. Not just in the sport itself but in its underpinnings. It takes extraordinary team effort to sustain the operation. That said, there’s been some chatter of late talking about junior league roller derby. The first brat league was formed in Tucson by a group of kids who had been following the Tucson Roller Derby adult league. The girls are from 10 to 18 and they play by modified rules.

What’s interesting is that the girls enjoy the same solidarity as their elder counterparts. Yet, one thing has come up for discussion during our own visits with New York’s Gotham Girls: the emotional impact of injuries.

It’s fabulous to see young girls enjoy the solidarity and empowerment that the older girls find in roller derby. They’re practicing at least twice a week, playing once and socializing in-between. They live and breathe the sport. Even at work or school, they txt and IM their derby friends.

The network is pretty intense, which is something hard to find today. But because of that intensity, the impact of an injury hits very hard. Suddenly, a girl is jolted out of her element. That in itself is difficult for women of age, and further complicated for girls in their teens and pre-teens who are in the formative stages of their identity. It singly steps the issue up for the big sisters who now play yet another role.

The trick is how to maintain the authenticity of the younger set without losing the essence. (Image: Arnicare waiting for derby girls at practice.)

Generational Synergy

I've been thinking a lot about generations lately, and specifically how developing pairing strategies of segmentation can offer new insights that are missed when looking at any generation alone.  The idea is that we often decide we want to reach a particular age group and we dive into that generation as the only source of data that will help unlock the code of reaching them. Could it be that the relationship generations have with other generations can be a way of opening up new ways of seeing them?  Developing pairings that unlock shared codes for specific tangibles and intangibles?

For example, there are opportunities to see where Gen Y is going by sometimes looking at their relationship to codes of their Boomer parents, and other times in their shared code with Gen X.  Codes of caution and status (Boomer) and codes of instigator and notoriety (Gen X). The reality is that generations are shaped by the ways they choose to assimilate or differentiate from the other generations in their world.

This idea of generational synergy can play out in all possible pairings between generations.  It can help develop bridges that broaden the market for products and brands.  It can help better identify as much the "i am" as the "i am not" when thinking about any given generation.  How they share and differ in translating trends that are impacting them as consumers. It can also help segment within those generations to see personas that give a better sense of where they may be going next.

An interesting current example is in the current political season.  When we see the poll numbers on Obama rising among Boomer independents, is this shift being propelled to some degree by how they see the way Gen X has embraced and validated him as a candidate?  Is there a point at which people see ideas from "the pack" hit a brick wall and start looking outside to see where we need to move next on certain issues? I think this is especially interesting as part of the essential DNA of Gen X is CHANGE.  They are the birth of the creative class and  invented sampling, tweaking and 2.0. Obama is the nuanced candidate - he is the first (at least in spirit) Gen X candidate.  While Obama is certainly popular with young voters, is the pairing of Gen X and Boomers the key to shaping the message that will likely result in  votes on election day?

Smooth Move for PETA

Aretha Franklin's US$19,000 tax bill will be paid by PETA if she promises never to wear fur again. The Respect singer is close to having her Michigan home repossessed unless she can come up with the money. PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) have agreed to settle the bill if she agrees to their terms, which also include handing over her collection of fur coats.

PETA says it's a win-win situation. Interestingly, should Aretha accept the offer and renege on her promise never to wear fur, she will be slammed and PETA will emerge even stronger. Lots of message board controversy wondering why PETA doesn't just donate the money to a shelter. The discourse of buying a celebrity resonates far louder and sustains itself longer than a donation.

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Men are Twits

Twitter falls in line with the sentiment that girls blog and guys post video. An engine like Twitter facilitates the quick in and out that guys require--kind of like how old department stores used to be designed with menswear consolidated on the first floor and close to the exit, never making the guys walk through any of the girly stuff.

Because of the limited amount of characters (140) and how sore thumbs can get pushing those little keys, Twitter postings are usually space-efficient and to the point. All that's missing is location-based functionality--ideally GPS.

By following only the users you want to hear from, it limits the amount of unwanted tweets. "I quickly realized that decrying the banality of tweets missed their point," says Jason Pontin, publisher of Technology Review. "The only people in the world who might be interested in my twittering – my family, my close friends – were precisely the ones who would be entertained and comforted by their triviality."

Twitter met its Internet hipster tipping point at least year's SXSWi. This year, it was even more firmly entrenched with most attendees gaining a general awareness of their friends' SXSWi experience by constantly monitoring their Twitter feeds. When some after-show parties began to fill too quickly...frustrated groups would spin off from the long, outdoor lines to collect in impromptu "tweet-up" parties.

At the show's Day 2 keynote with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, Zuckerberg and the audience grew bored with the interviewer's questions, causing the 23-year-old CEO to clam up and the audience to start heckling—by monitoring other attendees' Twitter feeds.

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